Impulse transmitter



Aug. 14, 1945. H J OYLER IMPULSE TRANSMITTER Original Filed June 24,1940 Patented Aug. 14, 1945 IMPULSE TRANSMITTER Herbert J. Oyler,Dallas, Tex., assignor to J. P.

Seeburg Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Iliinois Originalapplication .lune 24, 1940, Serial No.

Divided and this application December 5, 1940, Serial No. 368,570

4 Claims.

This application is a division from my copending application Serial No.342,038, iiled June 24, 1940.

The invention relates to impulse transmitters and has for its principalobject to provide an improved impulse transmitter.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improvedcoin-controlled impulse transmitter whereby a predetermined number ofimpulses may be selected manually and transmitted only when a coin isinserted at a suitable position.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved impulsetransmitter having means for preventing operation of the transmitteruntil the'mechanism is completely set for the transmission of themaximum number of impulses.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will appearfrom the 4following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, takenin conJunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view and wiring diagram of an improved impulsetransmitter;

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan viewl showing elements of my transmitter;and

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the clockwork and associated mechanism of Fig.1 as viewed from l the lower side of that figure.

My improved impulse transmitter may suitably be contained within ahousing (not shown) which is provided with a coin chute 4, which chuteis provided with a switch 5 which is adapted to be closed, in knownmanner, by an inserted coin. One side of this switch is connected to abattery 8, the other side being connected to a solenoid l.

The solenoid 1 is connected to the other side of the battery 6 so thatthe solenoid l is energized each time a coin of the appropriatedenomination is inserted in the coin chute 4. My improved impulsetransmitter is provided with a series of buttons 8 corresponding innumber to the number of series of impulses for which the impulser isarranged. Thus, in the device illustrated, I may send one impulse or anyplurality of impulses up to twenty. These buttons are available to theoperator, they being mounted on rods 9 which project through a wall ofthe housing.

Each rod 9. is mounted within the housing for axial movement and isbiased outwardly by a spring I0. Each rod 9 is provided with an annularprojection Il. A iingered bar I2, which is pressed downwardly by aspring I3, is adapted to -cooperate with the annular projections I I.

When one of the buttons 8 is pressed inwardly, 55

this annular projection II raises the bar I2 against the action of thespring I3. Consequently, any other rod 9 and button 8 which may havebeen pressed inwardly, are released and moved outwardly by theassociated spring I0. When the annular projection I I of the button nowbeing pressed inwardly moves behind the bar I2, the bar descends andholds the button in its inward position until another button is pressedinwardly.

Upon the inner end of each rod 9 is mounted a sleeve I4 of insulatingmaterial, the innermost end of the sleeve being closed. The innermostend of the sleeve I4 is adapted to cooperate, when its rod 9 is movedinwardly, with a normally open leaf spring I5, there being one switch I5for each rod 9. That is, in the present instance, there are twentyswitches I5, and twenty rods 9. Each sleeve I4 is provided with aleft-hand abutment I6 and a right-hand abutment Il. It is to be notedthat the rst sleeve I4 need not be provided with a left-hand abutment,and that the last, or twentieth sleeve Il, may not be provided with aright-hand abutment.

Each left-hand abutment I6 is located immediately in front of, and inoverlapping relation to, the right-hand abutment of the sleeve I4immediately to the left. Consequently, when one button is pushed in, itssleeve I4 is moved rearwardly and all the sleeves to the left of theactuated sleeve are moved rearwardly, so that the switch I5,corresponding to the actuated button, is closed, and al1 the switches IIto the left of that actuated sleeve are closed. All the sleeves to theright of the actuated sleeve remain in their normal position and theirswitches remain open. The sleeves I4 are biased forwardly by weakpressure which may be supplied, for example, by the adjacent leaves ofthe switches I5. Consequently, the sleeves Il are returned to normalposition and their switches I5 are opened when the bar I2 is againraised. For the sake of simplicity, it may be noted that if buttonnumber ilve is pressed inwardly,then the first five switches I5 on theleft are closed, the other switches I5 remaining open. Each of theswitches I5 has one side connected to one side of the battery. The otherside of the battery is connected to a radio transmitter I9. The othersides of the switches I5 are connected individually to an arcuate seriesof contacts 20.

The contacts 2li are adapted to be engaged by a wiper arm 2l whichnormally occupies a zero position beyond the contacts, as shown inFig. 1. When the wiper arm 2i is in this normal positiont it engages arocker arm 22 which controls a switch 23, this switch being open whenthe wiper arm 2| isin normal position.

The wiper arm 2| is mounted on a shaft 2l which is biased to the initialposition of the wiper arm by means of a spring 2| coiled around theshaft. The shaft 2l carries a gear 2l which is in mesh with the quadrant2E. This quadrant is pivotally mounted and carries a projecting arm 21which is pivotally connected to the amature 22 of the solenoid l.

It will thus be seen that when the solenoid 1 is energized, its amature2B moves upwardly and the quadrant 26 moves downwardly, rotating thewiper arm 2| in clockwise direction past and bel yond all the contacts.After the arm 2| has passed the contacts, it engages the rocker arm 22and moves it to the left, closing the switch 2li.

The shaft 2l is connected to the clockwork mechanism 29 by a slippingclutch (not shown) so that the clockwork mechanism is unaffected whenthe arm 2| is swung around in clockwise direction. When the shaft 24|moves back in counter-clockwise direction, under the influence of itstension spring 3|, the clockwork mechanism is actuated and serves as adelay means so that the return of the wiper arm 2| is relatively slow.The transmitter I8 is connected to one side of the switch 23. The otherside of the switch is connected to the wiper arm 2|. When the switch 22is closed and the wiper arm 2i is returning to initial position, thetransmitter control circuit is completed through the battery, througheach closed switch I5 and through the corresponding contacts 20, thewiper arm 2| and the switch 23. Consequently, during the rem turn of thewiper arm 2|, the control circuit of the transmitter I9 is closed anumber of times, corresponding to the number of the button 8 which hasbeen actuated.

The transmitter I9 is provided with a transmitting antenna. 30 and it isarranged to transmit an impulse of radio frequency energy each time thatits control circuit is completed. Consequently, during the returnmovement of the wiper arm 2|, a series of impulses of radio frequencyenergy are transmitted by the antenna 3U, corresponding in number to thenumber of the button l which .has been actuated.

The operation is as follows: Assuming that the operator desires to senda definite number oi impulses, for example, live, he pushes buttonnumber five, thus mechanically closing the ilrst five switches i5. Thenhe inserts a coin of suitable denomination in the chute I, therebyclosing the switch 5 and energizing the solenoid 1. The energization ofthe solenoid swings the wiper arm from its initial position in clockwisedirection, past all of the contacts 20. It is to be noted that theengagement of the wiper arm 2| with these contacts during the clockwisemotion, completes no circuit since the switch 23 is open. At the end ofthe clockwise motion of the arm 2|, the switch 23 is closed and duringthe return or counter-clockwise motion of the wiper arm, the controlcircuit of the transmitter is closed five times. Thus, when thereturning wiper arm engages contact number one, the control circuit iscompleted through switch 23, wiper arm 2|, contact number one, thecorresponding switch number one, and battery E. A similar circuit iscompleted when the wiper arm engages each of the next four contacts.'I'he circuit is not completed when the wiper arm engages the sixth. or

any subsequent contact 2l, because the corresponding switches II areopen. It will thus be understood that the transmitter Il transmits fiveseparate impulses of radio frequency energy.

It will be understood that this impulse transmitter may be employed withany suitable apparatus which may be actuated thereby. Such apparatusincludes the receiver adapted to receive and amplify the impulses andalso mechanism to be actuated by said impulses. Thus, for example, myimproved impulser may be employed in order to control an automaticphonograph in the manner described in my copending application SerialNo. 342,038, filed June 24, 1940, of which the present application is adivision.

Although I have described my invention in connection with specificdetails of a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood thatsuch details are not intended to be limitative of the invention, exceptin so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim is:

l. An impulse transmitter comprising a plurality of contacts, meansadapted to move over said contacts, individual selector means eachadapted to energize a different number of said contacts, a controlcircuit including said movable means adapted to transmit a series ofimpulses corresponding to the number of contacts energized, and a switchcontrolled by said movable means in one position for breaking saidcircuit and in the other position for completing said circuit.

2. An impulse transmitter comprising a series of switches, manuallyactuated means corresponding to and adapted to close each switch,mechanical means connecting said manually actuated means wherebyactuation of one of said manually actuated means actuates thecorresponding and all the preceding means of the series to close thecorresponding and all preceding switches of the series, an arcuateseries of contacts corresponding to said switches. said switches beingconnected individually to the contacts, a wiper arm adapted to move oversaid contacts, a switch, means associated with said wiper arm wherebylast said switch is closed at the end of the movement of said wiper armin one direction and is opened at the end of the movement of said wiperarm in the opposite direction, and a circuit including said actuatedswitches, said wiper arm and last said switch.

3. An impulse transmitter comprising a series of switches, a series ofmanually actuated means corresponding to and adapted to close eachswitch, overlapping elements associated with each of said manuallyactuated means, Vthe element of each manually actuated means overlappingthe element of the preceding means of the series whereby actuation ofone of said manually actuated means actuates the corresponding and allthe preceding means of the series to close the corresponding and allpreceding switches of the series, an arcuate series of contactscorresponding to said switches, said switches being connectedindividually to the contacts, a wiper arm adapted to move over saidcontacts, a coin-controlled electromagneticmeans for moving said armover said contacts in one direction, spring means for moving said arm inthe opposite direction, a switch adapted to be closed by said arm at theend of its first movement and to be opened by the arm at the end of itsopposite movement, and a cirasaasoi 3 of contacts energized, automaticmeans for caus- 10 ing said movable means to move over said contacts inone direction, electrical means for moving said movable means in theopposite direction over said contacts. means effective at the end offirst said movement for breaking the circuit of said movable member, andmeans eifeetive at the end o! last said movement for connecting thecircuit of said movable member.

HERBERT J. OYLER.

